Gewurztraminer Grenache Sherry France Rhone Valley Rasteau

Gewurztraminer is renowned for being a particularly tricky grape varietal to grow and cultivate, but is one which plenty of wineries persevere with due to its unique properties and excellent flavors The vines themselves are highly robust, and can even be unruly when in the correct type of soil, but they cannot grow well in terroirs which contain chalk or other similar components. They are also extremely susceptible to a wide range of diseases and rot, and due to their early budding and fruiting, they cannot survive frost. However, despite these problems, in cooler climates and on the right terroir, the Gewurztraminer grape varietal produces wonderful results quite unlike any other vine. The pink grapes are packed full of elegant and sweet flavors, their relatively high sugar content offering a light sweetness alongside floral notes, perfumed and aromatic aromas, and a distinctive taste of lychees.

The purple skinned grapes of the Grenache varietal have quickly become one of the most widely planted red wine grapes in the world, flourishing in several countries which have the correct conditions in which they can grow to ripeness. They thrive anywhere with a dry, hot climate, such as that found in central Spain and other such arid areas, and produce delightfully light bodied wines full of spicy flavors and notes of dark berries. Their robustness and relative vigor has led them being a favorite grape varietal for wineries all over the world, and whilst it isn't uncommon to see bottles made from this varietal alone, they are also regularly used as a blending grape due to their high sugar content and ability to produce wines containing a relatively high level of alcohol.

Sherry is made in a unique way using the solera system, which blends fractional shares of young wine from oak barrels with older, more mature wines. Sherry has no vintage date because it is blended from a variety of years. Rare, old sherries can contain wine that dates back 25 to 50 years or more, the date the solera was begun. If a bottle has a date on it, it probably refers to the date the company was founded.

Most sherries begin with the Palomino grape, which enjoys a generally mild climate in and around the triad of towns known as the "Sherry Triangle" and grows in white, limestone and clay soils that look like beach sand. The Pedro Ximenez type of sweet sherry comes from the Pedro Ximenez grape.

Sherry is a "fortified" wine, which means that distilled, neutral spirits are used to fortify the sherry. The added liquor means that the final sherry will be 16 to 20 percent alcohol (higher than table wines) and that it will have a longer shelf life than table wines.

Year in, year out, France enjoys its prestigious reputation as the producer of the finest wines in the world. With a wine making history which spans several thousand years and owes its expertise to the Romans, it comes as little surprise that this most highly esteemed of the Old World wine countries continues to impress and enchant both novices and experts to this day. Despite the rise in quality of wines from neighboring European countries, not to mention the New World, the French wine industry continues to boom, with up to eight billion bottles being produced in recent years. However, France prides itself on always putting quality before quantity, and the wide range in fine produce is a testament to the dedication and knowledge of the wineries across the country. Indeed, from rich and complex reds to light and aromatic white wines, French wines are as varied and interesting as they are enjoyable to drink, making this country a firm favorite for wine lovers across the globe.

The Rhone Valley of southern France is a particularly fascinating wine region, with a history that stretches back to at least six hundred BCE, when the ancient Greeks first began cultivating vines there. The region itself is split into two distinct sub-regions, with the northern sub-region being famed for its production of exceptional Syrah, Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier wines, packed full of interesting character and expressing the terroir found there. The southern sub-region is home to an enormous variety of grapes, and produces red, white and rosé wines, and some of the world's most famous and adored blended wines. The continental climate of the region is ideal for growing grapes, and the winds which blow from the Central Massif help temper the heat in the vineyards, leading to very ripe fruits holding plenty of flavor.